


Jack of Hearts, Queen of Diamonds, King of Spades

by rosepetalrevolution



Series: Utena Between-the-Lines Fic [4]
Category: Shoujo Kakumei Utena | Revolutionary Girl Utena
Genre: Gen, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-25
Updated: 2015-02-25
Packaged: 2018-03-15 05:22:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 823
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3435086
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rosepetalrevolution/pseuds/rosepetalrevolution
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Miki and Nanami leave the dorm following their (unsuccessful) study party with Anthy and Utena, the two girls and Chu-Chu turn in for the evening.<br/>Cute but kind of sad Chu-Chu fluff for Duel 4: The Sunlit Garden (Prelude)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Jack of Hearts, Queen of Diamonds, King of Spades

The foyer of the old, empty building was silent and still now that their visitors had left. Anthy closed the piano’s fall board, and Chu-Chu hopped onto her shoulder. Glancing down at her tiny friend, Anthy unthinkingly began to hum the simple melody she had played that night. She walked back to the bedroom and picked up the dishes from the shaved ice the four students had shared that night. Distracted by the papers and textbooks laid haphazardly on the table at the place her roommate had occupied for the evening, Anthy’s humming slowed as she stared downward, her rendition of Miki’s composition slipping out of the perfect pitch he’d longed to hear it played at. She paused, now quiet, lost in thought.

“Chu?”

Without looking at her friend, Anthy answered, the long-practiced coldness and detachment returning to her voice: “It can’t be helped, Chu-Chu.”

The spoons clinked together and against the sides of the cups as she carried them to the kitchen. With slow, deep breaths, Anthy fought the urge to leave them in the sink – days and nights would pass, and with no one else here except Utena, the pile of dishes would become overwhelming. Even the simplest, fastest tasks had become painful in recent weeks, but Anthy saw no alternative to completing them. If she had to live forever, she could not get weighed down by something like washing the dishes.

She knew there were far greater problems she would face. They loomed constantly in her mind, clearer now than they usually were, and Anthy thought that perhaps her awareness of their impending return, the weight of witnessing more duelists fall, the inevitability of her brother’s failures, the fate – indeed far worse than death – of the Rose Bride’s true purpose… Her existence had become exhausting, and a premonition of increased suffering troubled her mind. Why was something different this time? Why couldn’t she bury herself away inside herself as she had done for years?

Chu-Chu leapt off her shoulder and onto the kitchen counter, only to dive into a pile of soap suds that had formed as she mindlessly scrubbed the dishes. Emerging from the bubbles with what looked like a full head of white hair and a beard, the spirit was doing what he did best; Chu-Chu had been the first being to make Anthy laugh in over a century, and despite the terrifying depths of her thoughts this evening, he could still bring her back into the moment. Chuckling softly, Anthy helped him tie a dish towel around his neck and handed him a spoon – now with a proper scepter and cape, Chu-Chu struck a regal pose. “Come, Your Highness, shall we show Utena-sama your new look?” With a proud squeak, the monkey resumed his perch atop his mistress’s shoulder, although perhaps he held his chin a bit higher than usual.

They found Utena in the bathroom, already dressed in her oversized pajamas and brushing her teeth. “Himemiya,” she tried to say through the foaming toothpaste, “Where did you learn to… Oh!” Utena quickly spit into the sink and turned, dropping to one knee as Anthy held Chu-Chu out in her palm. “Your Highness,” the pink-haired girl said with an exaggerated reverence in her voice, “To what do we owe the honor of your presence here in our bathroom this evening?”

“Chu chu chuu chu chuu, chu chu chu!” The playful spirit held his spoon out, slowly bringing it to rest on Utena’s shoulders, one after the other. “Chu. Chu. Chu chuchu, chu!” Anthy could not help but smile as a pair of bright blue eyes sparkled upwards, first to the monkey, and then to meet her own eyes. Rising, Utena grinned. “Yes, as a knight of this noble castle, I will do my best to protect its king and beautiful princess.” Chu-Chu hopped into the sink and began to shake the bubbles off his head and face. As Utena walked toward the door to their bedroom, she paused to call back to Anthy, “It’s late, Himemiya. You should hurry and come to bed.”

“Yes, Utena-sama,” Anthy replied. She closed her eyes and waited for the other girl to leave the room. Once she was certain Utena had gotten into her bed, Anthy began to unpin her hair. Reaching for her soft-bristled brush from a drawer, she looked into the mirror at a woman who hardly seemed to resemble the persona she adopted during the day, when anyone else could see. “What if?” Anthy thought to herself, “What if Utena knew who I really was…?”

Chu-Chu climbed out of the sink and made eye contact with Anthy through the mirror. She’d been silly for even considering it – there was no way she could ever explain herself to Utena, no way that the girl would ever be able to change this reality even if she knew. Grimly, the world-weary sorceress nodded and tucked her hair into her night cap.


End file.
